Dylan Hartley and his fellow forwards obliterated one of the most formidable packs in European rugby on Sunday to propel Northampton into their first Heineken Cup final since 2000 and keep their Double dream alive.

When the England hooker emerged from the wreckage of Perpignan's broken scrum in the second half with a broad smile on his face, it was the image which summed up an unexpectedly one-sided semi-final.

The Catalans came to Milton Keynes to wage war up front and they came heavily armed, but they could not handle the awesome power of the Saints.

Opener: Ben Foden (right) celebrates his try with Chris Ashton

Hartley and his props, tighthead Brian
Mujati and outstanding Tongan loosehead Soane Tonga'uiha, led a
set-piece rout which was the platform for Northampton's domination up
front.

It wasn't just in the scrum where they seized control, the hosts
also created havoc in the lineout, revved up their rolling maul and used
the rampaging backrowers Phil Dowson and Roger Wilson to punch holes in
the Perpignan line time and again.

Throw in the odd burst of
brilliance, often courtesy of England full back Ben Foden, and it was a
trademark display of raw power with dashes of class.

13-point haul: Stephen Myler kicked two conversions and a penalty

Such was
Northampton's superiority that the result was all but a foregone
conclusion as early as the 30th minute, when centre Jon Clarke went over
for his side's second try to establish a 17-0 lead.

They conceded a try
just before half-time, but were always comfortably in charge and when
the deed was done, the players did a lap of honour in the sunshine.

They will have a deserved day off on Monday before preparing for arguably
the biggest month in their history.

First they must see off a Leeds team
fighting for their lives in the Aviva Premiership, before an away
play-off - probably at Welford Road against their fierce rivals
Leicester.

If they can clear that hurdle, then they will face
back-to-back finals on successive weekends, first against Leinster in
Cardiff on May 21, before a trip to Twickenham with the league title on
the line.

Final date: Captain Dylan Hartley (left) celebrates with Lee Dickson

These are heady days indeed for Jim Mallinder and his squad,
who have rallied superbly from a slump during the Six Nations, when so
many of their top players were absent.

Savouring the prospect of leading
the Saints out at the Millennium Stadium to take on the 2009 winners,
Hartley also took satisfaction from surprising a few people who doubted
that he and his team-mates could overcome Perpignan.

'We go into that
game as underdogs, I've already been told, but I am happy for that,' he
said. 'We were even under the radar going into this game. People were
picking out things about us that weren't good so it's nice to put two
fingers up to the doubters.'

Wing wizard: Ashton takes on the Perpignan defence

Mallinder was also pleased to see his
Saints banish a few preconceptions.

'We've proved we are a really good
team,' he said. 'We've been criticised for being one-dimensional - all
about forward power - but we showed an all-round game today. You need
forward power, but there was some magic and soft hands from Downey to
put Dowson through for the first try and Ben Foden was world-class in
the first half.'

The home side's first try, in the 15th minute, was
indeed superbly crafted. Clarke ran back a kick on the left and when the
ball was shipped infield, James Downey sent Dowson through a gap and
the flanker charged into the 22, where he was brought down. From the
base of the ruck, Paul Diggin fed Stephen Myler and with an
inviting overlap outside, he put Foden over, then added the conversion.

This began a mini purple patch for the full back, who produced two more
scorching breaks.

Myler landed a penalty to make it 10-0 to the Saints
and when his next shot at goal skewed horribly short and wide, Perpignan
wing Julien Candelon knocked on under no pressure near his own line.

The scrum yielded a penalty which was kicked to touch, Northampton
secured the lineout and when the ball reached Clarke, standing deep, he
carved through to score by the posts.

Again Myler kicked the extras and
the writing was on the wall for the visitors, who then lost Candelon to
the sin bin for a reckless hit on the airborne Lee Dickson.

They dredged
up enough of their forward power to drive hooker Guilhem Guirado over
just before the break but Myler had already nailed another penalty and
he did the same again 10 minutes into the second half, for what was
ultimately the final scoring act.

Hartley nearly scored following a
rumbling run from Tonga'uiha and, at the other end, the Catalans had
plenty of possession and attacking territory.

But Northampton were not
to be denied and if Leinster are favourites for the final, they will be
wary ones.